Improvement in processes for preparinp vegetable fiber



'NALL, of Addison Road,in the count-yet Mid herebydeclare that the nature of'finy inve'ii-iof depriving them ni-oreefleotually of their 'quired, fo'r'the 'purp'oseof resolving thennlor \vithout'cutti ug, tearing, or in any way injure 1 ing those minute fib'ers',-fand" thus 'ohteinin'g a sonte'h'ed, so as to 'remove the boo'nor wh'od only of getting rid of the been or wood more to bemore efl'ectually ing to any of the known methods, but must- Y process is performed the more easilywin the each other; and iu-perforniing the rettiu g process upon the straw of-tiaxiutended to be sub- UN TED TA E CHARLES Ji PownALu'o-F ADDISON ROAD, KE-ns ueTon, ENGLAND. i

iMjP RoveMENT m PROCESSES to R PREPA Rl nefv-E-o ETABLE Fl BER,

,. Specifie itionforming part ot' Letters Patent No. 9.650, dated Anus, 185?.

"lo allwhomitzmayicmwem:.

Be-it known-that I, O anes JAMES Powdlesex, England, gentleman, have invented or discovered neivfand useful .lmprovements in the Treatment andPrepar-ation of. Flex and otherSi'inilhr Fibrousvegetable Substances; and L the said C ARLES JAMES eows tuu Lion and the manner in whicligthe saniejst be performed[are partienlgirly deseribed and tion thereof, asfo ows-"thetjs' to'st y":

My said iuventioii consists of a mode or-modes of preparing or treati iig' fla'x and other similar fibrous vegetable substances for the DUIIQOSG.

resinous aud guminyvmat-ters, and, then re"--;

the 'ordinaryfilamentsofthose substances,- imo their-ultimate fibers.) For this purpose; adopt a. mode, or modes of treatiugthose substances, not only for the-1 purpose nemone.

the aid of any injurious chemical agents, and

fibrous materialof greatfiuenessu I When Iapply my process to flax Iftake-the 'retted strewand subject'it totheproces's which I am I aboutto describe, I prefer, however, that the flex upon which l operat'e. shouldbe some before it is l etted, for the purpose not effectually, but also-diminishing the'hulk of. the material to he operatedu ponand causing the mechanical aetionfherei-nafter mentioned pplied' to the filaments of the flax to beopereted-upon. a

The'fla'x may be retted-or fermented accord-'- oloserve that the'more p'ei fectiy the rettin'g' minute fibers of the plantebe separated from mitted to my process I deem it desirable to conduct it in such a manner as-to prevent the ecetous fermentation of that process passing into such a stage as will causeit to injureor discolor the fibrous matters of; the vegetable, outlier this purpose, from time to time, dur-- =ing the progress of the-retting or ferme'n'ta tionfas the resinous, glutinous, and otherltuatters separated from the vegetable rise to'the' top or the tank, or vessel, of pit in the state ofv-sjcum, Ireinove such scum, endalso change,

or-jpartielly change, the water. for the purpose I of preventing or checking-any tendency of the t ,flax'or the u'attersiextraoted from itto pass; asceita'ined in and by this present specific'a,-

into'the putrid' or destructive fermentation.

I .1 .W hen the rettin g, iroeess has been efi'ect; utilly performed upon t'hestraw of flzi'xfthe lint" or ordineryyfilameuts of the flux may be easily; "separated .tro n theiboon or wood withwhich it ismi'xed bysauyfot' the ordinaryneesns used v for that purpose? ihistesd ofidry in'g-thelretted material immediatelyfstter it has been meet-1,1. as; now usnaliydo fl adopt the following 1 modeo'f treatment-for more efiectuallyremov-g ifngthe residue of its resinous or gu'miuyjmst tors; For thispurpose I place the rettedfins': 1 ,in a. suitable machine or vessel, through which .I eause astream of water to flow, and in which 3 the flexis subjected to a powerful mechanical fiction,and.-is repeatedly beaten, pressed,orsqneezeduntil all the resinous orgnm m y unit- .ters area s much as'po'ssible removed from it. Instead of losing only from fifteen to twenty percent; of the weightflxs when; treatedfin the ordineryw'ny, the flex willhe deprived of the V \vhole,*or n earlythe whole, of its resinous or gummy-matters, amounting to about forty'per;

cent, by the rotting and the process jnstj nentionedj. The ina'ehinewhich I prefer to use for this purpose is made upon the well-known prIn-- ciple of theme or fuliiug mill, and taking care .thatthere shall he a sufiieient supply of \va ter running through the-flu x to wash away the resinous or gummy matters as they are de-- tac'hedfrom the flax by the operation of the machinery. It the hex hasnot been scutched before. it was retted, I now proceed to dry it, in a. chamber heated with stcam-pipesor other convenient" means, ,for the purpose of eua blingnie to get rid of the been or wood; and when thoroughly dry-i .pass the iinxthrough heavyroller's, as at present, sees to break or crush the whole of the wood or been and ueltach it from the filaments of theflax, and then I scutoh it by any convenient machinery, so as to remove the v oody parts and obtain the tilemerits of the flax in a separate state. It the flax has been'seutehedhetore ret'ting, it may, if desired, he bleached by any ordinary means before it is dried. I then cause, the seutehed or dried material to he passed througha ma- .ehine usually called a wool willow, or some similar machine, for the purpose of opening out the material and dividing the lumps ormasses in such a'inanner' as to make it more tit fol combing or eardingor other proeess,'aecording to the use to which it: maybe intended vto be applied. I V

If I desire to separate theifilalnents of the flax into their ultimate or finer fibers I then proceed to card it and the resinous or gummy matters having been removed by the process already described, the filaments of the flax will separate into the ultimate or liner fibers or which they are composed, and the tihrhusdn'ab ter thus obtained may be spun upon anysuitw ble machinery. The fibers into which filaments of flax. may be thus separated are rery line, and I have ascertained that the fibers contained in a plant are nearly uniform in length,

such lengths varying fromnbont fliree-l'ourths of an inch to about two and a lialfinelies, ae-

eording t0 the growth of illOlltlX-Dltlllt'; that they have tapering ends, and are in every way fitted for being-"spun intothreads ily-pur- "suing this mode of obtaining the liner er ultimate fibers I avoid cutting or tearing them,

. i "heat and am thus enahiedte' obtain them in a better'state for'spinning into threads whichmay he used in the manufacture of many texiile fal)ries, and for other purposes;

The'inode of 'treatinghemp and other fibrous ,-\fegetahlematters ispreeisely similar ,to that which Thave described with reference to flax, and the vegetable; matters ope *atedupon in this way may, in addition, he bleached by any ordinary process applicable for that purpose Having'uow described the nature of my said invention and the mannervof perforiniug the same, I hereby declare that claim as of my i nvention-iv The mode of subjecting fibrous vegetable substances to'repeated mechanical pressure and the action of a stream of water for the qnirpnsel ot' depriving them of resinous or gum- 1n "m'ntter,and also resolving them into their ulti nate or finer iibers,in manner hereinbet'o're described.

In witness whereof I, the said CHARLES JAMES POWNALL, have hereunto set my hand this 5th dayot Augusnltilh I Y t 5 CHAS. .l. DOWN-ALL;

' "Witnesses: v a

' "it A, 'ROOMAN, -r:- a

Putmiy-lgeni, lt'tl F100? 81.,- London. JNo/Uooit, A L

Uni-si ar h'li'rrl, 1midn)z,-. a 

